Mysterious Friend
by CreativeVisionary
Summary: Bruce finds himself running into a mysterious stranger called Ken Kaneki a few times on his travels. He doesn't know much about his new friend but he makes good coffee and doesn't ask too many personal questions so it could be worse.


Bruce first met Ken Kaneki one blistering hot day in the rural Indian village of Rajasthan. At first, he had mistaken the young man for a lost tourist with his broken mix of Hindi and English while trying to buy coffee beans from a local vendor. The attempted conversation seemed to have been going on for a few minutes already before Bruce had shown up, guided by the shopkeeper's wife who had asked him to act as an interpreter for the strange white-haired man. It was an easy issue to fix, both parties thanking him for his help.

"Thank you, I don't think they were going to put up with me for much longer if you hadn't come." Ken had said, grunting from the effort of picking up his newly purchased sack of coffee beans before sending a shy smile the scientist's way. Though he seemed rather small and thin (though that was likely due to his nationality if nothing else), he had a surprising amount of hidden muscle. The lack of any American accent also helped ease some of Bruce's wariness over the new addition to the village.

Picking up his own bags, he gave his own smile in return. "It's no problem, the local dialect gave me some trouble when I first got here. Do you need to get anything else?" He asked. It was best to offer now rather than let him struggle with another shopkeeper. The bag also seemed really heavy for... Oh, he should probably get the other man's name too. "Uh, I'm Bruce by the way. Banner. What's your name?" He quickly held out his free hand in offering.

"I'm Ken Kaneki. It's nice to meet you Banner-san." The white-haired man, now known as Ken, shifted the sack to he could return Bruce's handshake. It took him by surprise just how strong the Asian man's grip was. "I'm all good now. Please, let me make you some coffee as thanks." He let go, going back to holding the sack with both arms.

One thing Banner had learned from his years on the run was how to differentiate when people were trying to use him. There were a few tells and even some of the more trained men who had come for him in the past hadn't been able to hide all of them. Kaneki was completely like any of those men. Though he did seem a little more subdued than a traveler normally would be he didn't show any signs of manipulation. That and the 4 hours of sleep he was currently running on helped fuel his decision.

"Coffee sounds wonderful right about now. You don't need to be formal, just Bruce is fine. From the san, can I assume that you're Japanese?" The scientist followed his fellow foreigner through the winding streets of the village, waving to some of the local children who gawked at them as they passed. The hot sun was already high in the sky and was making his shirt stick uncomfortably to his back.

"Yes, I've lived in Tokyo my whole life. Things got pretty bad for me there recently so I decided to travel, get away from it all." Ken's tone seemed almost longing, like he missed his home. Bruce could relate. He missed a lot of what he left behind when he had to go on the run. He could see a little of himself in the Japanese man in that respect.

They had just reached Ken's temporary home, the man placing his purchase down beside the small cooking area off to one side of the room. There wasn't much, just a bag or two likely filled with food and personal belongings as well as a rolled-up bed set. It was rather similar to Bruce's own set up a little further into the village. Kaneki got right to brewing the coffee with a rather professional looking coffee set. It was a little odd considering the man seemed to be a traveller but it already smelled heavenly so who was he to complain.

Bruce's first sip of coffee had him holding back a noise of appreciation. It had been so long since he had had one that tasted good. Kaneki himself let out a small sigh with a smile ghosting along his lips. "So, how long do you think you'll be staying around? I could help teach you some of the language to help you get by if you're going to be here for a while." Bruce offered, taking another sip.

Ken's smile seemed to brighten at the offer though he tried to hide it behind his mug. "I'm not sure, however long it takes until I need to move on I guess. If you could teach me though, I would be happy to pay you in fresh coffee. I don't really have a lot of skills other than that so I'm afraid there isn't much else I can offer." It was a little self-deprecating but Bruce could hear the underlying joking in his new friend's tone.

"You know, I think we can work something out along those lines." He raised his mug in a mock toast to the agreement, Ken following suit.

Everything had been going great for the next few weeks for Bruce. Ken, for all that he seemed shy, could be surprisingly humorous when he got comfortable. It almost seemed too good to be true.

And that it was. Bruce started noticing things at night. Small glints of light coming from the forest on the outskirts of the village, the feeling of eyes watching him more than normal. The last straw was when he spotted a black van parked just outside of the village when he was on his way to Ken's. He quickly about turned to his own temporary home and packed his stuff. That night, he left the small village of Rajasthan and his new friend without any warning or goodbye. He could only hope that Ross's men hadn't noticed his communication with the small Japanese man and would leave him alone.


End file.
